Bar of the week: Out Of The Blue at The Berkeley

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

Valentine's Day ideas that are guaranteed to impress her

From gorgeous gifts to romantic getaways and the best places to take your beau out to celebrate, we've compiled the ultimate list of Valentine's Day ideas for her - as chosen by the women of GQ - to treat your better half with this 14 February

Bar of the week: Out Of The Blue at The Berkeley

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

Valentine's Day ideas that are guaranteed to impress her

From gorgeous gifts to romantic getaways and the best places to take your beau out to celebrate, we've compiled the ultimate list of Valentine's Day ideas for her - as chosen by the women of GQ - to treat your better half with this 14 February

The Weeknd has several hundred thousand more fans than we thought. Sure, we knew he was popular – he's got the kind of music that recruits lovesick groupies within seconds. But we didn't realise he had enough fans to make the O2 Arena look small, to have fans spilling out the sides and seem, at points, to be one on top of the other like little building blocks in the standing area. No bots had to buy out a couple thousand seats at this gig.

Not only are The Weeknd fans stupendous in their quantity, they're overwhelming in their infatuation. With a crowd that was sixty per cent female, The Weeknd's entrance was greeted with screams and sobs reminiscent of The Beatles' heyday. GQ was at Drake's London opening night a few weeks earlier, and whilst arguably a much bigger artist, there were no screams when he came on.

Rex / Shutterstock

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While Starboy may be The Weeknd's biggest album yet, the songs prior to this album got the best reaction from the screaming-for-more masses. Early hit "High For This" had the audience bellowing along in ear-splitting decibels, while the super slo-mo on-screen visuals captured the look of earnest rapture on the young Canadian's face as female fans tried to stay composed. One of the most-hyped tracks was "In The Night" - the video for which his ex Bella Hadid starred in - while some of the slow bangers like "Sidewalks", although impressive, had the crowd seeming a bit lethargic due to the slow-tempo, despite his formidable vocal gymnastics.

The three-piece-band Abel Tesafaye played with is worth mentioning. One of the final songs of the show ("I Feel It Coming") featured an electric guitar solo so long and so impressive you’d be forgiven for thinking you were at a raucous rock gig, rather than R&B run-through. It’s this emo-element that makes The Weeknd so interesting - sure, he’s the king of sex-pop, but he also gives off alternative angst. The softly-spoken artist cuts a sweet and unimposing figure – little wonder so many comparisons have been made between him and his ultimate idol Michael Jackson - and yet his lyrics are straight-up sexual. It's strange but it works. The Weeknd might not be your conventional male pin-up, but he’s got his brand locked down.

There were no big, ballsy impressive stage props (Drake’s globe, we’re looking at you), but just some ambient lighting. The Weeknd spent the whole show on the precipice of the walkway that jutted out into the crowd, which only worked to the audience’s advantage as it made him even more visible.

However, the thing with The Weeknd, is that while he's all very well and good to listen to when you're horizontal, lethargic, inebriated, or tearing up the tarmac in the rain, he's not so commanding as a performer. His music is like a sensual, adult lullaby, to the extent that much of the audience sat for several of his songs, and closed their eyes. Rather than chide them, we joined them. The Weeknd is a flawless singer – his set list may as well have been a one-take album recording session without editing. Every note, every utterance was pitch-perfect. The Weeknd’s vocal delivery is verging on clinically correct, this is not a man who make mistakes. For an artist whose subject matter is so often downright dirty, his singing style is impeccably clean and on-point at all times.

And as impressive as this might be, it's not engaging. The interest in witnessing a live performance is the first-hand experience of watching an artist come down to earth a little. To watch them falter, miss the odd beat, and improvise a word or two.

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The Weeknd gets it so right it's almost boring. We know he's shy, and we know that's why he doesn't talk to his crowd, and we all know Drake – the polar opposite – needs to put a sock in it sometimes, but there's a balance. And that balance isn't cut by addressing the "beautiful ladies" whilst looking at a group of gormless indie-boys in the front row.

That said, this was without-doubt one of the best shows we've seen from a mega star in a seriously long time. The Weeknd might not play up to the crowd in the way fellow country-man Drake does so effortlessly, but he still put on a box-ticking, awe-inspiring and smooth-sounding show. Tesafaye gave the Starboy super-fans exactly what they wanted and showed once again why he's the only artist you need on your sex soundtrack, his lack of cheeky chat notwithstanding.